1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to flourescent lighting and, more particularly, to a cooling device or system for a fluorescent light bulb for the purpose of keeping the ballast cool.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fluorescent lighting has found wide spread use in homes, offices, and industrial establishments around the world. The ability of fluorescent lights to produce light with good color rendition in an energy efficient manner make them very popular with everyone. However, one factor associated with the use of these lights that is not popular is the maintenance required. Not only do the lamps require replacement, but the ballasts do as well. Additionally, ballast replacement does involve a fair deal of labor. This is especially costly in areas that are hard to access such as high ceiling areas. As is common with most electrical and electronic device failures, the most prevalent cause of ballast failure is high temperature. Ballasts have to deal with elevated temperatures not only from operation, but from their location at ceiling level.
In the related art, a search did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following patents disclose a compact fluorescent lamp with convective venting for cooling the ballast:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,277 issued in the name of Simonovitch; PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,944 issued in the name of Skwirut et al.; and PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,073 issued in the name of Skwirut et al.
The following patents describe a fixture for the mounting and cooling of fluorescent lamps: U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,646 issued in the name of Siminovitch et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,345 issued in the name of Fordsmand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,301 issued in the name of Martich discloses a fluorescent lamp heat-dissipating apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,358 issued in the name of Kamei et al. describes a fluorescent lamp having separate cooling means for the ballast and fluorescent tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,418 issued in the name of Fridrich discloses a fluorescent lamp with ballast resistor and cooling means therefor.
Consequently, there is a need for a means by which the ballasts of fluorescent lighting fixtures can be kept cool for increased operating life.